In back-to-back ticketing or nested ticketing, a traveler wants to make two round trips midweek. At one time, airlines typically charged more for midweek round trips than trips that involved a Saturday night stay. This ploy allows the traveler to book two round-trip tickets with Saturday stays even though the actual travel is all midweek. If a business traveler wanted to make two round trips from New York to Los Angeles in two consecutive weeks, the traveler could book a round trip leaving New York Monday of week 1 and returning to New York Friday of week 2. Then the traveler could book a second round trip ticket in the opposite direction, leaving Los Angeles on Friday of week 1 and return to Los Angeles Monday of week 2. In week 1, the traveler flies the first leg of the first ticket, then returns home on the first leg of the second ticket. The following week the traveler flies from New York to Los Angeles again, this time on the second leg of the second ticket, and finally returns to New York on the second leg of the first ticket.
The usefulness of this strategy has diminished materially, as most airlines have abandoned the discount for a Saturday-night stayover.
Read more about this topic: Airline Booking Ploys